Town Confirm Civelli Interest - Ipswich Town News

Town have confirmed their interest in Club Banfield left midfielder Luciano Civelli. Talks are currently ongoing between the Blues and the Argentinian club.

Earlier in the week, reports in South American revealed that the Blues were set to sign the man known as Lucho in a deal which would see them take 50% ownership of the player's rights for a fee of around £1 million, the remainder presumably staying with his agent, although there has been no confirmation from either club regarding the details of the transfer.

Banfield's vice-president Carlos Portel revealed Civelli's impending exit to the Argentinian media on Monday: "The offer from the English team is very interesting. We've already analysed it at a board meeting, so the player could maybe be transferred in the next few days."

Civelli himself said at the time that he knew little of his impending move: "If everything is so advanced as the press says, well, I will have to start to learn to speak in English.”

Civelli is 6ft 1½in tall and started his career as a left back but moved into wide midfield where he now plays most of his football. A good tackler, his crossing is also said to be amongst his strengths.

Greek side AEK Athens recently showed interest in signing Civelli, whose brother Renato plays for Olympique Marseille.

Pehuajó-born Civelli, who holds an Italian passport so does not require a work permit to play in the UK, has made 68 appearances for his club, scoring eight goals since making his debut in 2006.

Town scouts Steve McCall and Simon Hunt recently made an extensive trip to Argentina looking for January additions to the squad.

Last month, chief executive Derek Bowden told TWTD that the club are liaising with Argentinian scout Horacio Lorda, who was previously involved in the deal which saw Mauricio Taricco join the Blues, in order to avoid some of the pitfalls involved in signing players from South America: "We will use an intermediary who is well versed in how things work in Argentina and will be very diligent and careful that we don't fall foul of any regulation.”

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